Video and the CMO

For the chief marketing officers of Fortune 100 companies, small tech start ups and everywhere in between, video marketing is fast becoming a critical part of their strategic mix. In a world increasingly comfortable with video content and able to consume it anywhere, more CMOs are bringing video making in-house.

However, product managers and marketing executives often see video creation as an expensive, precarious investment – one with huge potential, but a dark art nonetheless. Here are some of the pitfalls, tools, and best practices for creating marketing videos.

CMOs and product marketers love video because:

• Video tells a better story: Think TED talks. Think that helpful video explaining how to use your new CRM or how to set up your Chrome device. Detailed, difficult-to-position messages thrive on the nuances you can convey in video.
• You can capture the imagination: Use the multidimensionality of video to transport viewers to a better self in a better world.
• Digital goes viral: There is enough connectivity between social platforms and news media now that if your video is truly helpful, or truly captivating, its reach will be self powered.

CMOs adopt video slowly or not at all because:

• It seems risky: Short-form, non big-budget video is still fairly new for in-house marketing teams, which brings an inherent financial and quality risk.
• It seems time-intensive: A clear vision, clear feedback, approval, and timeline management can become complicated when you have a buyer, a production team, creative, and project managers involved.
• Financially, it’s all or nothing: Without an experienced in-house creator or negotiator, it’s easy to experience scope-creep and be forced to choose between an unusable video and a double-digit price increase. This can happen simply due to a misalignment in vision at the outset, or…

Advice for the modern, video-making CMO:

• KISS – keep it short, sir: As CJ Cregg said in the West Wing: ‘I’m the Press Secretary, boo-boo, and I just don’t have that kind of time.’ In all seriousness, find your core message, and try to express it in less than 60 seconds. If you can’t, reassess the message, or break it into more than one video.
• Create a toolbox: Cloud file storage providers like Box and Dropbox allow for simpler management of large files. Companies like Wipster offer a specialized share-and-review service with the same cloud perks. Your project will go more quickly and with less contention with the right tools.
• Resource yourself: here are some helpful articles about making videos for CMOs and marketing executives:
  • Making Video Less Scary for Marketers: A Q&A with Brainshark's CMO
  • Survey says vast majority of marketers use online video